JuvDelStudyGuide02.doc

Sociology 4024: Juvenile Delinquency Autumn 2009 Study Guide 2 ?If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.? W.I. Thomas Components of Theories Variable: a value being studied that has potential to change Dependent variable: the observed result of the independent variable being manipulated Independent variable: the variable being manipulated or changed Hypothesis: a proposed explanation for an observable phenomenon How theories are evaluated: A theory is more than just a good idea; it is a claim based on observation, measurements, empirical observations -must be based in observable, empirical knowledge in order to be accepted -must be relatively simple, straightforward, testable -must be relative to a specific time and place and be continually checked -must be logical The Demonic Perspective: "The devil made you do it" -Instigated by the devil and affecting the entirety of the cosmos -Deviance is equated to sin. -accounted for either by demonic possession (the devil) or temptation-formulated through the seven deadly sins; oldest perspective of crime -the Demonic perspective allows us to make order of the world, but consequently blinds us to the actual problem because we are too caught up in the justification Trial by ordeal: trial by torture; torture until person admits guilt; primarily applied to lower class people Trial by battle: reserved for elite/wealthy people; easier to appear innocent; battle with king The Lateran Council of 1215: Religiously administrated ritual of public punishment. Obedience to God meant obedience to the church. Priests are mediators between humans and God. Ritual of social control Public Execution Demonic perspective centralized the control of deviance in the hands of religious authorities. Salem Witch Trials (1692): a bunch of young women were acting unruly and oddly; people attributed the behavior to the demonic perspective Assessment of the Demonic School Classical School: major shift of paradigms Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794): -individuals have a social contract with one another -the government that governs the least is actually the best; the more they try to control the more they become a tyranny -punishment must be? swift: must be fresh in people's minds, can't leave too much time in between the crime and the punishment; consistent: you must treat a certain crime the same way every time with the same punishment; proportionate: you must punish people appropriately, can't over or under punish people -the point of punishment: to prevent/deter crime; reduces the seriousness of any crime committed; ensures that an offender will only use the force necessary to commit a crime; keep the cost of crime as low as the person; ex: in 1985, crime increased because of guns, created a law that if you rob a store you get 2 years imprisonment, if you rob a store with a gun you get 2 years plus another 4-6 years; studies show this is effective -specific deterrence: punish someone so that they will never repeat the crime again -general deterrence: punish someone in order to set an example to the greater population; try to stop other people from committing the same cry Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Utilitarianism: In judicial processes, the right act or policy is that which would create the greatest good the greatest number of people Hedonistic calculus: a procedure for estimating the moral status of any action Punishment serves four purposes (Bentham) Neoclassical School Mitigating circumstances: take into account varying circumstances that could have contributed to criminal behavior; could lessen punishment Why are offenders punished? To deter offenders and other people from commiting crimes Does punishment work? Positivist School: attempts to find scientific objectivity for the measurement and quantification of criminal behavior Empiricism: looking for innate causes and explanations for criminal behavior; observable and testable evidence Charles Darwin: theory of evolution; testable, observable, based off of scientific data Positivism: knowledge based on actual sense experience Auguste Comte: founder of sociology and positivism; society is constituted by three stages: the theological, the metaphysical, and the positive Determinism: every event, action, decision is predetermined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences Phrenologists: the shape of a person's skull can explain a person's personality traits Stigmata: people exhibiting more than five unusual physical features can be characterized as a certain type of criminal Atavism: some people are more savage/ primitive creatures than modern humans; exception to advancements over generations Cesare Lombroso: father of modern criminology -4 types of criminals- 1. born criminals: main type; clear atavistic characteristics; **largest group of criminals** 2. insane criminals: crimes are the product of mental or organic impairments 3. occasional criminals: regular people, but when presented with criminal opportunity they take advantage; low level of self control; lapse into temptation; predisposition to take advantage of criminal opportunities 4. passionate criminals: commit crimes as a product of anger, love, or honor; ex: catch your wife cheating on you, you go into a fit of rage and passion and kill her Female Offender: intelligent, strong willed women were viewed as insane criminals; if a woman was passionate she was thought to be exhibiting criminal like qualities because naturally, women are supposed to be calm and submissive Punishment and correction: it is necessary to distinguish between criminal types because the goal of punishment is to rehabilitate; in order to rehabilitate successfully we must distinguish different needs for different criminals Deterrence: prevention from further criminal behavior Retribution: the severity of punishment should be reasonable and appropriate to the crime committed Enrico Ferri (1856-1929): other father of modern criminology; contemporary of Lombroso; attributed biological correlations to criminal behavior; believed there is no place in the criminal justice system for free will; most important part of justice is punishment, in order to deter others from criminal activity -believed in rehabilitation; wanted to create insane asylums; proactive step in rehabilitation was the working farm, a place where criminals could go for rehabilitation; opposite of punitive punishment: keeping people locked up instead of reforming and releasing them into society, implemented with Raegan -indeterminate sentencing: give people a range of sentencing; reevaluate progress of individual periodically and determine their sentence accordingly; attempting to personalize justice Body type and crime: 1925, Ernst Kretschmer: 1) athletic 2) pyknic 3) leptosome 4) dysplactic William Sheldon (1949, Varieties of Delinquent Youth): 1) Endomorphs: fat, softies, extroverted, happy go lucky 2) Mesomorphs: active, assertive, aggressive, athletic/lean bodies; **most likely to be criminals 3) Ectomorphs: skinny, lean, fragile bodies, introverted, overly sensitive James Q. Wilson & Richard Herrnstein: -questioned why some people are more likely to commit crime than others and at higher rates -looked at heredity and crime, biological dispositions to account for criminal behavior Charles Murray & Richard Herrnstein, The Bell Curve: wrote book correlating criminal behavior to IQ test scores; concluded that the smarter you are the less likely you are to commit crime; wanted to create a two track education system, one for smarter people to become professionals, another for people with different capabilities and lower intelligence to excel in jobs more fit for their needs -problems with theory: IQ tests are very racist and classist; more geared toward social intelligence in that it was written and designed by white, middle class men Eugenics: study of all agencies under human control which can improve or impair the racial quality of future generations; leading factor in anti social beliefs and movements; for instance, the holocaust Antisocial personality: aka psychopath/sociopath -primary characteristic: lack of empathy -primary objective of punishment: rehabilitate; the problem is we can't rehabilitate antisocial people because if you have no empathy you can't be reformed -6-10% of people in the world are sociopaths -they commit almost 80% of the most dangerous crimes -sociopaths are extremely lucid; seek immediate gratification; impulsive, don't look into future consequences; typically good con men, appear to be very charming and intelligent; make great first impressions -extremely egocentric, think the world revolves around them; this makes them incapable of forming a long term relationship with another person -reckless disregard for safest, consistently engage in risk taking behavior -recidivism: repeated offenses, typically escalate future crimes Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): -cause is unknown -more likely to be arrested for crime and be involved in more serious offenses -drug therapy-ritilan, adderall -misuse of drug therapy: many people are prescribed drugs when its unnecessary; over diagnosing children -up to 52% of kids are misdiagnosed -leads to substance abuse